USPS answers this one directly: Japan sits in Price Group 17 for every weight-based service and Price Group 3 for flat-rate boxes and envelopes, and its own retail price files put First-Class Package International Service at 24.15 USD to 71.90 USD under a 4-pound ceiling, Priority Mail International at 66.05 USD to 338.95 USD across a 66-pound range, and Priority Mail Express International at 95.60 USD to 428.30 USD over the same range. UPS and FedEx do not publish an equivalent table for this lane, which is covered further down. SMKlog's own calculator sells labels abroad only to Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia, so the Japan-bound figures below are USPS's published numbers, not a quote this site can check out.
USPS prices Japan by the pound in public. UPS and FedEx price it behind a calculator that wants a real shipment first.
First-Class Package International Service stops at 4 lb into Japan. Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International both run to 66 lb, and both draw the same Group 17 weight table.
| Weight not over | First-Class Package International Service | Priority Mail International | Priority Mail Express International |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 oz | 24.15 USD | — | — |
| 1 lb | 33.95 USD | 66.05 USD | 95.60 USD |
| 2 lb | 37.90 USD | 69.45 USD | 98.35 USD |
| 3 lb | 56.45 USD | 73.95 USD | 102.70 USD |
| 4 lb (First-Class ceiling) | 71.90 USD | 78.50 USD | 108.45 USD |
| 5 lb | not offered past 4 lb | 83.60 USD | 114.40 USD |
| 10 lb | not offered past 4 lb | 111.55 USD | 145.70 USD |
| 20 lb | not offered past 4 lb | 167.10 USD | 208.40 USD |
| 40 lb | not offered past 4 lb | 230.50 USD | 288.20 USD |
| 66 lb (ceiling, both products) | not offered past 4 lb | 338.95 USD | 428.30 USD |
First-Class Package International Service undercuts Priority Mail International by roughly half at 4 lb, but it disappears entirely one ounce past that ceiling. Above 4 lb the only remaining choice is between the two Priority Mail products, and the gap between them widens with weight: 29.55 USD apart at 1 lb, 89.35 USD apart at the 66-lb ceiling.
Japan draws Price Group 3 for flat-rate boxes and envelopes on the same price files, a cheaper band than the Group 17 its weight-based prices run on. A box packed dense enough to fit the fixed size beats the per-pound price by a wide margin once it clears a few pounds.
| Container | Weight ceiling | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelope | 4 lb | 49.75 USD |
| Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box | 4 lb | 51.40 USD |
| Priority Mail International Medium Flat Rate Box | 20 lb | 96.40 USD |
| Priority Mail International Large Flat Rate Box | 20 lb | 121.30 USD |
| Priority Mail Express International Flat Rate Envelope | 4 lb | 79.80 USD |
A Large Flat Rate Box holding 20 lb runs 121.30 USD, 45.80 USD under the 167.10 USD the same weight costs on the per-pound table two sections up. The saving only holds if the item is compact enough to fit the box; a bulky but light item is usually cheaper on the weight table instead.
Set USPS's published table next to UPS and FedEx and the asymmetry is the whole story. Only one of the three carriers lets a shopper read a price for Japan without first entering a shipment.
UPS's shipping-costs page, read 2026-08-31, sends shoppers to its Calculate Time and Cost tool rather than printing a country-by-country chart the way USPS does. FedEx's international shipping page would not load at all that day, returning an access-denied response instead of content, so this page states nothing about FedEx's Japan ladder beyond that fact. Getting a courier figure for this lane means opening either carrier's own tool with a real box in hand, not reading a page like this one.
USPS suspended the Priority Mail Express International money-back guarantee on several destinations, but Japan is not one of them. The country listing states the guarantee is still available, read 2026-08-31, which is worth the price gap over Priority Mail International on a shipment where the date actually matters.
Any article valued above 1,600 USD needs a sales invoice affixed to the parcel or enclosed with the customs form, per the country listing. Below that line the customs declaration itself carries enough detail on its own.
Airmail M-bags — the sack rate built for printed matter to one addressee — are marked not available to Japan. A box of books or catalogs prices as an ordinary parcel on the tables above; there is no cheaper bulk lane underneath it.
USPS revises these price files several times a year. The figures above are what its price files showed on 2026-08-31; a shipment planned for later is worth checking against the same files again.
USPS prices Japan on Price Group 17: First-Class Package International Service runs 24.15 USD to 71.90 USD under its 4-pound ceiling, Priority Mail International runs 66.05 USD to 338.95 USD across its 66-pound range, and Priority Mail Express International runs 95.60 USD to 428.30 USD across the same 66-pound range. Figures are from USPS's retail price files, effective June 15, 2026 and read on 2026-08-31.
Often, yes. Japan draws Price Group 3 for flat-rate packaging, well below the Group 17 its weight-based prices use. A Priority Mail International Large Flat Rate Box holding up to 20 pounds costs 121.30 USD, against 167.10 USD for the same 20 pounds priced by weight, as long as the contents fit inside the box.
Yes. Unlike a number of destinations where USPS has pulled the promise, the country listing for Japan states the money-back guarantee on Priority Mail Express International is available there, read 2026-08-31. Priority Mail International carries no such promise on any lane.
Yes. USPS's country listing requires a sales invoice, affixed to the parcel or enclosed with the customs form, for any article valued at more than 1,600 USD, read 2026-08-31. Below that line the customs declaration by itself is enough.
No published chart exists for either. UPS's shipping-costs page, read 2026-08-31, sends shoppers to its Calculate Time and Cost tool instead of a country table, and FedEx's international shipping page would not load that day, returning an access-denied response. USPS is the only one of the three with a number a shopper can read directly.